Dried meat – it’s what’s for snacking. Beef jerky, humanity’s favorite chew toy, suddenly has become a star on the snack scene, popping up at grocery stores and delis all over town.

“This isn’t ice cream or yogurt, or even a McDonald’s hamburger that can be chewed and swallowed like any other food,” said jerky lover Erik Schwarze, 25, a paralegal who lives in Greenwich Village.

“You have to fight with jerky – really dig your teeth into it, pull off slabs and chew. And chew.”

Americans from coast to coast are gnawing on the meaty treats, grinding away with purpose and passion. And that has meat-snack manufacturers licking their chops.

Last year, meat snacks – jerky, kippered beef, meat sticks and pickled sausages – really brought home the bacon, pulling in some $1.74 billion in sales, according to the Snack Food Association, an Alexandria, Va., trade group representing snack-food manufacturers.

That’s a 32 percent increase from the year before.

And jerky leads the lip-smacking charge.

“The whole category is rising, but it’s jerky that is rising at the fastest pace,” said Jeff Slater, vice president of Marketing for Goodmark Foods, makers of Slim Jim and Pemmican beef jerky.

The high-protein sliver of beef – salted, seasoned and then smoked – has benefited from an advertising boost, national distribution and the public’s taste for low-carb foods such as those in the Atkins diet.

Once thought of as an outdoorsman’s take-along treat, jerky enjoyed a heyday in the 1970s, particularly on the West Coast. Now, it’s everywhere – and consumed by almost everyone.

“It’s being viewed by consumers as an everyday kind of snack rather than an occasional product,” says Mick Tyler, vice president of marketing for the Oberto Sausage Company, the Kent, Wa., producers of Oh Boy! Oberto jerky.

In fact, many consumers see dried meat as a healthier alternative to junk food – even though it contains an abundance of salt, flavor enhancers, preservatives and small doses of refined sugar and saturated fat.

“This is high in protein and low in fat, and it tastes damn good,” argued Schwarze. “Plus, I’m sure you burn off most of the calories just chewing it.”

Nutritionist Kim Ross is one health-conscious expert who gives jerky the thumbs-up.

“Compared to the type of typical snack foods people eat – such as cookies, candy, pretzels or chips – this is a healthier choice,” she says. “It has more nutrients and is less processed, and gives you more protein, less fat and minimal refined carbohydrates.”

People throughout history have been mad for cow.

From the Spanish word “charqui,” or “dried meat,” jerky was sustenance for cowboys, native tribes, pioneers and frontiersman in the fridge-less days.

Popular with G.I.s during the Vietnam War, chomped on in space, possibly smuggled into the Outback on “Survivor 2,” jerky continues its tradition as a symbol of survival and exploration.

A host of new producers have hit the market or expanded their presence, including Jack Link’s beef jerky and Bridgford beef jerky.

“Everybody and their sister is making beef jerky,” said Slater.

Two high-profile backers of jerky are rock legends: Chubby Checker and Ted Nugent.

“I went with my hunches,” said rocker Nugent, who got into the jerky business three years ago as endorser and investor of Nugent Gonzo Biltong jerky. “I knew the best food in the world was meat.”

The Motor City Madman’s moist jerky – the slogan of which is “Nobody Can Beat Our Meat” – is available in 20 Midwestern and Southern states and sold online at http://www.tednugent.com.

“I chose a snack that’s a coming snack,” said Chubby Checker, an endorser and partner of Chubby Checker’s Beef Jerky (www.chubbychecker.com), which is heading Gotham’s way as early as November.

“I’m like the New York Post – nothing passes me by,” the Twister said.

New York restaurants are also serving up dried meat.

Twenty pounds of it are eaten daily at Rain, the Pan-Asian chain of uptown restaurants.

Chef Jett Hurapan began dishing out the finger food six years ago to great success and “never stopped.”